Q : What Happens if My Child Turns 21 After I Have Filed My Asylum Application?

Under the Child Status Protection Act, signed into law by President Bush on August 6, 2002, your child will continue to be classified as a child if he or she turned 21 years of age after your asylum application was filed but while it was pending. Your child must have been unmarried and under 21 years of age on the date that you filed your I-589. The “filing date” is the date that USCIS received your application.

There is no requirement that your child have been included as a dependent on your asylum application at the time of filing, only that your child be included prior to the decision made on your claim. This means that you may add to your asylum application an unmarried son or daughter who is 21 years of age, but who was 20 at the time you filed your asylum application.